600 Lucky Kids Board North Pole Express to Meet Santa Saturday Afternoon
Six hundred children ages 2-12, clad in pajamas and holiday garb will hop on a train bound for the North Pole Saturday afternoon. They’ll get “sugared up’’ on hot cocoa and cookies and listen to excerpts from the beloved children’s book “The Polar Express’’ read by local celebrities, before meeting Santa.
Naturally, he’ll be taking gift requests and handing out some early presents once the Express reaches its destination an hour later.
The North Pole Express is actually an MBTA commuter rail, and the North Pole is really Weymouth Landing on the Greenbush Line. Still, the annual invite-only ride, which is becoming a Boston tradition, gets its passengers, many of whom come from underserved families, in the holiday spirit.
“It’s a big to-do,’’ Keolis Commuter Services spokesman Mac Daniel told The Boston Globe, adding, “When Santa boards the train, it’s akin to the Beatles arriving in America.’’
A big deal indeed.
This is the fifth year that the North Pole Express has chugged along Boston-area commuter rails. Last year, the North Pole was Readville; in 2012, passengers arrived at the Fairmont stop in Hyde Park.
The event, which runs from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m., is sponsored by the MBTA, Keolis Commuter Services and MassDOT, according to Patch.
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